


Changes Come In All Different Sizes

by Kat2077



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Inhuman Jemma Simmons, Jemma Simmons Needs a Hug, Maveth - Freeform, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Skimmons friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22027417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat2077/pseuds/Kat2077
Summary: The many months that Jemma spent on Maveth changed her. That was very clear, and it had been expected that she would suffer from PTSD after the torment she endured. However, no one was prepared for how much it changed her, not even Simmons herself.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Changes Come In All Different Sizes

The many months that Jemma spent on Maveth changed her. That was very clear, and it had been expected that she would suffer from PTSD after the torment she endured. However, no one was prepared for how much it changed her, not even Simmons herself. 

It was small at first, little changes to Simmons that could all be explained by what they knew about what happened on Maveth. Then it was more significant changes, changes that were a bit more on the impossible side of things. 

It wasn’t long before the others noticed these changes; after all, it was a base full of agents trained to be highly observant.

It was Fitz, who was one of the first to notice; after all, he spent the most time with Jemma after she was saved. It wasn’t long before he took notice of her altered sleeping habits. Simmons had never been great at getting sleep, and her mind was far too active for her to have a routine sleep schedule. In her time in Maveth, it had somehow gotten worse. It was evident to Fitz and was quickly becoming apparent to others, that Simmons was not getting near enough sleep. 

If she wasn’t asleep, it was hardly even in bed. She could be found passed out in the lab, at the table in the rec room, or any chair around the base. It always seemed like she had just passed out where she was, and when reviewing security tapes, that suspicion was confirmed. 

When asked about, Simmons always responded with a kind smile as she lied through her teeth, telling others that she was just fine and doing better. For a while, it worked, but people were catching on pretty quickly.

It finally reached a point when Fitz knew that he had to intervene when Simmons was found passed out on the lab floor at 3 am. He had started going in very early in the morning to see if Simmons was still there and instantly panicked when he saw her on the ground, “Jemma!” He called out as he rushed to her side, checking for a pulse and fearing the worse, though he didn’t get a chance to check for one because the moment that he made physical contact with Simmons, she shot awake.  
It happened too fast for Fitz react, but all of a sudden, Simmons was on top of him with a knife to his throat. There was a short moment when neither of them said anything, Simmons just stared at Fitz. At that moment, he noticed that her eyes were glazed over, and she didn’t seem to be seeing him, “Jemma,” he said in a slow, calm voice, “it's me, its Fitz.” 

That shook her from her state, “Oh my goodness, Fitz,” She said as she removed the knife from his throat and moved off of him, “what are you doing up this late?”  
“What am I doing up? What are you doing on the ground?” Fitz said, and when added on, “and it’s not late, it's early and very early at that.”

“Oh, was I?” Jemma asked as she quickly took in her surroundings, “Well, would you look at that I am.”

“Jemma,” Fitz said, “What are you doing on the floor?”

Simmons didn’t answer him; she just stood up and sat down at her desk. It was all to clear that she was hurting; she couldn’t admit it. 

“Why haven’t you been sleeping?”

Again, Simmons didn’t answer him. Fitz could see that her eyes were starting to fill with tears that she was trying to hold back.

“Why?” Fitz asked again, his voice breaking a little as he did. 

It was that word that broke Simmons, and she finally spoke, “Because every time I do, I go back there!” She screamed, “I relive every single moment over and over. I can’t take that.”

“Oh, Jemma,” Fitz said softly as he moved towards Simmons to offer come comfort, reaching forward to hug her. When he reached out, Simmons jumped back. To Fitz, it looked like an involuntary reaction; it wasn’t hard for him to figure out why. 

It took a moment for Simmons to notice her movement, but eventually, she did and allowed Fitz to hug her, “Sorry,” She said softly, barely loud enough for him to hear it. 

“Don’t apologize,” he said, “you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“No, I do,” Simmons responded, “I need to be fine. I can’t let this hold me back. The team can’t have that. I have to be strong.”

Fitz cut her off, “No, you don’t,” he said, “The team needs you to get better. The team needs you to sleep.”

Simmons didn’t say anything after that, and she just allowed Fitz to hold her. After a few minutes, Fitz started to pull away, getting ready to tell Simmons that she needed to get to bed, but when he did, he saw that Simmons had fallen asleep in his arms. She looked so peaceful and calm, so unlike what he looked like when she was awake. 

It took him a while, but eventually, Fitz managed to move her to her room and place her on her bed without waking her up. She probably wouldn’t sleep long, but it would be better than nothing. 

The next night, a bottle of sleeping medication appeared on Simmons’ bedside table. It was like a band-aid for a bullet wound. 

. . .

It was a few weeks later before the other changes came to light. This time it was Daisy who noticed them. 

Simmons had been doing better, a lot better. The pills helped her sleep more, which helped to improve other things. She wasn’t in tip-top shape; it would be much longer before that happened, but she was improving. She still suffered from PTSD and panic attacks, but she was getting better, and that was all that mattered.  
It had been her idea for her to go out for a grocery run, which shocked everyone else around her. Simmons hadn’t left the base since she had gotten back, and it would have been a big step for her, but it was what she wanted to do. She had wanted to go alone, but Coulson had insisted that someone go with her to help, and Simmons agreed that it would be a good idea to have someone to watch her back. She was going to ask Fitz, she felt very comfortable with him after, but he was stuck in the lab, so Daisy was the next best choice. 

“Honestly, I’m surprised you asked me to come along,” Daisy said as the two of them pulled into the parking lot. Simmons had insisted that Daisy drive because she hated driving in America. 

“Really?” Simmons asked, actually surprised for once, “Why is that?”

“Well, we haven’t exactly talked since you got back,” she said as she parked the car.

“I guess you’re right,” Simmons said as she got out of the car and realized just how closed off, she had been lately, “But hey, we’re talking right now.”  
Daisy just gave Simmons and smile and nodded, “Can you go grab a cart, and then we can get this show on the road?” she asked while she grabbed the list of things they needed. 

“You got it,” Simmons said with a smile as she rushed over to grab a cart. It wasn’t too far away, about thirty or forty feet from where they had parked the car.  
Daisy, once she had gotten the list, walked to the back of the car while she waited for Simmons to come back with the cart. She took a moment to enjoy the sun, realizing how much of her time was spent indoors and how nice of a day it was. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes, taking in the warm beams while she waited. 

The sound of tires skidding shook her from her thoughts. Instantly she was brought back to reality and looked up just in time to see a car heading right for her, just milliseconds away from hitting her. She heard Simmons yell, “Daisy!” and then she was on the ground with Simmons’ arms around her waist. 

The car that was previously heading right towards Daisy crashing into their parked car and the sound of glass shattering could be heard all around. Simmons’ removed her arms from Daisy’s waist and covered her ears, “Ahhh!” She screamed, but due to a large number of loud noises around them, only Daisy seemed to hear it. 

Instantly Daisy started to check on Simmons, looking for any injuries and trying to figure out what was wrong, but she seemed to be physically fine, “Simmons, what’s wrong?” She asked once things had gotten a little quieter.

Slowly Simmons removed her hands from her ears, “Sorry,” She said, speaking as if nothing happened, “It just was really loud,” Daisy nodded, not voicing her more significant concerns about the scientist and the event that just occurred, “Are you okay?”

Daisy slowly pulled herself up onto her feet and dusting herself off, helping Simmons do the same, “Yeah, I’m fine. What about you?”

“Just glad had enough time to get you out of the same, that could have been bad.”

“Okay,” Daisy said, not sure what to say next and just looked around them, “I guess this shopping trip is over.”

Simmons laughed a little, “Seems like Mack will have to go without his precious protein powder for a few days.”

“Tragic,” Daisy said with a laugh, happy that Simmons was finally making jokes and getting back to her old self, “I’ll just call Bobbi or someone and get them to come to get us, considering our ride is a bit destroyed.”

. . .

Once they had gotten back to the base, Simmons had run off back to the lab while Daisy made her way over to Coulson’s office and knocked on the door, “Come in,” Coulson responded. 

“Sir, I need to speak with you,” Daisy said as she entered and closed the door behind her, “It’s about Jemma.”

“Right, I heard about what happened. Glad you guys are both okay, from what I was told it was pretty close.”

Daisy sat down in the chair in front of Coulson’s desk, “That’s just it; it was too close.”

Coulson gave her a look of confusion, “What do you mean too close?”

“That car should have hit me, but Simmons was able to pull me out of the way right before I could go splat,” Daisy explained. When Coulson continued to give Daisy the same confused look, she continued, “She was like forty feet away.”

“So, what are you thinking?”

“What I’m thinking is that Maveth might have changed her more than we realized,” Daisy said confidently, “think about it, she got to me way to fast for a normal person, and her hearing is off the charts.”

“Her hearing, care to explain that one, Ms. Johnson?” Coulson asked. 

Daisy stood up, “I’m not super sure, but Simmons was a lot more affected by loud noises, so something has to be up.”

. . .

Convincing Simmons to allow them to test her DNA for any mutations and changes wasn’t tricky. The scientist thought that it was a good idea. When asked about what she thought was happening, Simmons didn’t have an answer. 

“How long until we find out?” Simmons asked she was holding Daisy’s hand while they waited for the results. It was just her, Bobbi, and Daisy in the room. No one else, other than Coulson of course, knew what they were doing. Simmons had asked for the test to be kept secret; she didn’t want Fitz to freak out over anything, even if the test came up negative. 

“Should be just a few minutes, we kind of know what we’re looking for, so that helps,” Bobbi said. The blond was currently working on a tablet, running who knows what test. 

It was Daisy who spoke next, “What are we looking for exactly?”

“The inhuman gene sequence and any mutations from the last check we did on your DNA Simmons, we don’t know when this occurred,” Bobbi explained. 

“I think I know when you were on another planet. Boom case closed,” Daisy said a slightly forced smile, still holding onto Jemma’s hand. 

Silence fell around them, and no one knew what to say next. Daisy could feel Simmons shaking, and when she looked at the scientist's face, there was no emotion, it was like looking at a statue. After what felt like forever, Bobbi finally spoke, “Have you noticed anything, Simmons? Any changes?”

“So many,” Simmons said quietly, “but I’m not certain what could be normal, well normal considering everything about living on another planet for near as long as I have, you know it’s really not that normal at all, but that is clearly beside the point. Where was I, oh right, what could be normal and what is on the impossible side of things, the inhuman side of things.” 

Bobbi nodded, “Fair,” Daisy said. 

Then the tablet beeped, signaling that the test was complete and that the results were ready for them all to see. Bobbi reached to grab it, but Simmons beat her to it racing to it at a rapid speed that surprised both Bobbi and Daisy. The two agents shared a look, and Daisy gave Bobbi a ‘told you so’ kind of look to which Bobbi nodded in agreement. 

“Well its official,” Simmons said, there was a small smile on her face, but Daisy couldn’t figure out if that meant that Simmons was inhuman or if she wasn’t. The brunet wasn’t sure what the scientist was hoping the results were going to be, “I’m inhuman. Wow, that is just extraordinary. I didn’t even go through terrigenesis, at least not that I remember but who knows really. Now, all we need to do is my ability is. Oh, my goodness, this is exciting, isn’t it.” 

Daisy pulled out a small metal object out of her jacket pocket and looked at Simmons, “I do have my theories,” she said and then put the object to her mouth, which Simmons was beginning to realize was a whistle, and blew. 

Instantly a high-pitched noise filled Simmons’ ears and only Simmons’ ears, and she quickly dropped the tablet so she could cover her ears, “Oh my god, what is that?!” She yelled out. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Daisy, stop!” Bobbi yelled out, rushing over to Simmons’ side. Once Daisy saw the effect that the sound had on Jemma, she quickly stopped, “What was that?”

“That was a sound that humans couldn’t hear,” Daisy said as she went to Simmons’ side, “but you can,”

“I suppose that answers that question,” Simmons said, recovering from the whole ordeal, “I can hear things normal people can’t, fascinating. I wonder what else there is to it, has my overall sense of hearing improved? There is just so much to know.”

Daisy smiled and gave Simmons a small side hug, “I think I know where we can start.”

. . .

It took a few weeks, but Simmons was eventually confident that they had figured out her range of abilities. It was astonishing. From the different tests that they, that being her, Fitz, and Daisy, had run, it had been determined that all of her senses had been amplified as well as her physical abilities. It wasn’t very significant, but she was stronger and faster, as well as much more dexterous than the average person. It was far from the power levels of heroes like the Avengers, but there was a noticeable increase in Simmons’ abilities compared to the average person. 

Overall, it hadn’t been a big adjustment to Simmons’, she often found herself enjoying the different ways her abilities could be used. It certainly helped with the training she had started with May, that women could train forever, so the increased endurance helped loads. 

Her abilities also helped her with her overall sense of panic that she had since she got back from Maveth; Simmons didn’t need to worry about something sneaking up and attacking her if she could hear it coming. 

The abilities she had gained, while how she did get them was still a mystery, had helped her in her journey to recovery, and for that, Jemma was grateful. It was going to be a long and hard journey full of sleepless nights of panic and fear, but as long as she had her family and Fitz by her side, she felt like in the end, she was going to be okay.


End file.
